March 19, 2011

Rooftop Greenhouse of the Future?

Have a look at a rooftop greenhouse designed by an aerospace engineer. Its load spanning design, coupled with hydroponic growing, helps to solve the weight problem of traditional greenhouses. It could be mass produced. We desparatly need more visionary urban food production ideas like this. There is no future in digging in often contaminated city dirt.

While green roofs have increasingly made headlines as solutions for environmentally sound design in an urban environment, more often than not they are found only as expensive additions to new constructions. Translating the concept for mass production at a cost-effective rate—and for easy implementation on pre-existing buildings—has posed a bit of a dilemma.

As a result, although it is already clear what kind of positive impact a green roof can have in terms of energy conservation and aesthetic appeal, there has yet to be much opportunity to measure the widespread impact of green roofing on an urban scale.

Recently, however, Natalie Jeremijenko, an aerospace engineer and an environmental health professor at New York University, may have come up with a solution. Her modular rooftop greenhouses look a bit like giant larvae with outspread legs, but they do wonders in terms of function. For one, Jeremijenko’s design solves the predicament that Viraj Puri’s Gotham Greens, New York City’s first commercial rooftop farming initiative, struggled with: weight. Most city rooftops, particularly those of an older make, cannot support the heaviness of soil and water required of a green rooftop. Consequently, Puri struggled with locating enough suitable sites that meet the structural requirements.

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Rooftop Greenhouse of the Future?

Have a look at a rooftop greenhouse designed by an aerospace engineer. Its load spanning design, coupled with hydroponic growing, helps to solve the weight problem of traditional greenhouses. It could be mass produced. We desparatly need more visionary urban food production ideas like this. There is no future in digging in often contaminated city dirt.

While green roofs have increasingly made headlines as solutions for environmentally sound design in an urban environment, more often than not they are found only as expensive additions to new constructions. Translating the concept for mass production at a cost-effective rate—and for easy implementation on pre-existing buildings—has posed a bit of a dilemma.